Patient literacy levels within an inner-city optometry clinic

This study compares the literacy levels of patients seeking primary optometric care at the Illinois Eye Institute, located in a Chicago inner-city neighborhood, to the literacy demands of available near point cards and patient educational materials. The revised large print Slosson Oral Reading Test was administered to 100 primary care patients 10 to 15 minutes after the instillation of mydriatic eye drops. In addition, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level was calculated using the Spelling and Grammar component of the Microsoft ® Word software package 2003 (Microsoft, Redmond, Washington) for available near point testing cards and patient education materials used in this clinic from the American Optometric Association and the National Eye Institute. A total of 37.4% of patients read 1 standard deviation or more below their age-expected levels. A total of 46.5% of patients read at or below an eighth-grade level. The literacy demands of the tested near point cards ranged from 2nd grade to 12th grade. The literacy demands of patient education materials ranged from 7th grade to 12th grade. About one third to almost one half of the 100 patients in this sample from the Illinois Eye Institute optometry clinic read below their age-expected level. Therefore, near point testing materials and patient education materials may not be written at a suitable reading level to be effective in this population. Clinicians who provide eye care for patients in inner city settings should consider communicating important information using nonwritten methods to those patients with low literacy levels.